By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WHILE Lamar Taylor welcomed the opportunity to compete against one of his toughest rivals in the Caribbean, he was disappointed that he didn’t perform as well as he anticipated with the matchup against Trinidad & Tobago’s Olympian Dylan Carter.

The duo competed in the boys’ 18-and-over division, which served as an exhibition and didn’t count towards the overall positions for the 2024 CARIFTA Swimming Championships held at the Betty Kelly Kenning Swim Complex this past weekend.

The championships, however, afforded the swimmers the opportunity to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 27 to August 11. Taylor, the top Bahamian swimmer with a chance to book his ticket to the games, captured the gold in the 200m freestyle in 49.33 seconds and had to settle for a pair of silver medal performances in the 50 metre butterfly in 24.47 seconds and the 50m freestyle in 22.32.

Carter, 28, won both the 50m fly and 50m free in times of 23.42 and 21.98 respectively.

For 20-year-old Taylor, he would have liked to have swum faster with Carter providing the stiff challenge.

“It’s frustrating, but I knew I had a really long college season (at Henderson State University) and I’ve been to a few long course meets while I was training in college, so I’m extremely tired,” he said. “My technique is good, everything is good. It’s just that I am tired right now.

“So when I go back to school, I will take a week’s break and then get back in the grind and try to get my cuts this season. So with a little more time and a little more training, I think I will be able to get the times this summer.”

The Grand Bahama native ended his senior season by repeating as the NCAA Division II national champion in the 100-yard freestyle in a championship record time of 42.64.

As he ended up earning five All-American honours at the nationals, Taylor also led both of HSU’s 200m free and 400m free relay teams that won the national championship titles, including setting the DII national record in the 200m free relay in 1:16.50.

With his collegiate season over, the goal is now to qualify for the Olympics.

Taylor would have to drop down to the A standard of 21.96 or at least the B of 22.07 in the 50m free. There is no 50m fly, but the standard for the 100m fly is 51.67 (A) or 51.93 (B). In the 100m free, the A standard is 48.34 and the B is 48.58.

While the A is an automatic qualifier, the B is for those swimmers who is the only competitor in their country who would have attained the standard in that particular event, which secures a lane at the games.

“Swimming the 100m free by myself was a real confidence booster,” said Taylor, who lowered his own Bahamian national record in the process. “I went out at 23.0 and at the turn, I knew I had a 22-low in me. I just had to swim my hardest. I just didn’t get it.

“But having Dylan swimming next to me in my other races really helped me. He’s a good friend of mine, who always encourages me, especially when we are competing overseas, so it was a pleasure to have him here.”

Carter, a graduate of the University of Southern California, has already qualified for his third appearance at the Olympics and he’s hoping that he will make Paris a memorable experience.

“I’m looking forward to giving it my best and swimming fast and competing against the best in the world,” he projected.

“Each time is going to be unique and different. I’m a little older now, so I hope to get better.”

As for Taylor, Carter said there’s nothing like swimming against a hometown rival. “We are competitors first, but out of the pool, we are really good friends,” Carter said.

“Anytime we get to compete against each other, we push the other.

“So it’s good to be able to do that in front of the Bahamian crowd.”

Like all of the other visiting swimmers, Carter said he was delighted to get another opportunity to compete in the Bahamas.

“The crowd is so electric. You heard the noise from the stands. They really push you on. So I am really grateful to be in the Bahamas. What a great event they put on this week,” he summed up.

While he didn’t get the type of performances he anticipated, Taylor was just delighted to take the break from his studies at HSU to compete at home again.

“It’s one of the few opportunities that I get to compete at home in this pool,” he said.

“I always believe that’s the reason why I usually swim my best times because it’s something you want, to swim faster in the water and the junkanoo music in the sounds that make you want to swim fast.”

Last year, Taylor has established himself as the cream of the crop in The Bahamas, winning a gold in the 50 metre backstroke at the 24th Central American and Caribbean Games and a bronze in the 50m free at the 19th Pan American Games in Chile.

Carter, by the way, has won a gold in the 50m back at the FINA Swimming World Cup in 2022, silver in the 50m fly as well at the 15th FINA World Swimming Championships in 2021 and a bronze as a member of Trinidad & Tobago’s men’s 4 x 100 metre free relay at the 24th Central American and Caribbean Games last year.